Reinforced piston cup



Sept- 5, 1950 F. w` BLAKE ETAL 2,521,145

REINFORCED PISTON CUP Filed March 4, `194'? ../05 @ana EV/ BY Patented Sept. 5, 1950 REINFORCED PISTON' CUP Frankl W. Blake, Chicago,.Ill-.,and?JoefHl/Skellz Dunlevy, Palmyra, N. Y., .assignorsl to The Garlock Packing Company, Palmyra, N; YI,a.cor poration of'N'ew York ApplcationlMarch 4, 1947*,S'eria1 No; 7323220 3 Claims., 1,.

This, invention relatesV to` reinforced piston clips; and more particularly-ll to pistonfcups which are'formedprincipallyy 0f material which, unless adequately strengthened; may become deformed oidfarnagedi after*relatively*v short service on` a piston;

Itis conventionallpractice toi-mount about the peri-pheryfofrzaxpiston one or severalpiston cups which' are substantially L-shaped in` cross-sec#- Vtion; Pistonscupsl usuallyhave'ayradial flange by of the cupmaterial ithe cylindrical flangenoien the' cupi.v ini prior structures; may not: be? heldini en"- gagement^ with' the:` cylinder; wall; withv sumcient iirmnessf to .preyentfleakageeoi ilu-id pressure past the: piston. Althoughsplit-expanding ringsI` have beentusedwitliinthe"cylindricalriianges of:- piston cups: to urgef. such il'anfgess outwardly into; rm sealing: engagement .iwithf the? cylinder wall; such expanding rings' cronstitute;y az separate item of assembly; andi'- in'l` addition.. haves a; tendency to loeaiize.` theirexpansiveeforce: upona .af-.very narrow armular, area: oft thea cylindrical 1 ilange, thus; inducing wearl of the: flange .at thatareaandyieldiing 1ittle=or noe/nhanced/sealing efieetiat other areas of: thefouter iacefoif the-.1sealing;4 ilange;

Because fof `the Y softness -orplianeyw ofthepiston cupirmaterial, the;` cylindrical flangefpriorstruc.- tures hasl af strong 1 tendencyftoV -dragsomewhat'as the; pistonreciprocatesizwithinathe cylinder; and thisdragging-:occurs:alternately intopposite direc.- tionsassi/heal p-istonmoves back;v and forth. This rapidly weakenssand rupturesstheepiston cup at the. heel" thereoi. where:- theah cylindricali sealing flange 1j oins the radiallmountingf flange. Also.; in the: useofy prior: pistoncupf structuresg, if

the body of the piston is not quite-precisely deif signed with.4 reference. to.n the.-V cylinder within Whichit works, there'fmi-ght.-,bea ullaor ati least aepartialblowebacl:` off the seit? cylindricaly flange unden pressure; Such'. a? substantially instantan cous; breakdown: off ai. piston cupi.V might. yield 21. disastrous: consequences-r in some typesY of. ma eh-inery.V

Also,- a: relatively soft,v unsupported sealing` lissage;-v aceordingto, priorstructures,` would not have any inherent-:capacity for withstanding the force-` of uid: pressure. applied axially ofV the pistomuporr the-freeedgeeof said flange4 I-Ience,v except. as-xsomewhatineiiectually held between thepiston'and-the cylinder-wall,- the softsealing flange would tend to collapse axially with ashir ring effect. thus-r giving aT non-uniform sealing effeotover the outer face of; the sealingvflange and tending tarea-mettrai flange to wear outforbecome. ruptured prematurely;

The; object: of.v the, present invention, generally isY to, remedy thementienedshortcomings. of prior piston' cups. The objects; more specifically are asfollows:

Ani: important: objectoi. the present invention is to provide. a; piston cup which will materially outwearv those heretofore-developed, yieldinglsat isiaotoryservicetfor longer periods-of` time, and thereby requiring;less-frequent servicing jobs .on pistonassemblies;

Another-` important object isiv the provision: of at piston cupwoff which` substantially they entire outerV area oi'zthefcylindricalisealing flange ,of the cup is positivelyrurgedfinto andsheld inrmsealf ingrA engagement with the inner surfaeeof the cylinder in which-,theV piston works;

Anothenimportant object of 1 this,v invention is thegprovisionrof. a piston cupin which the radial flange is reinforced )to giveitsubstantialrigidity Wl'ierebyftoiprevent undesirable material outward cold"` owfof'theesaid radial ange:` and f otherwise tosenhan'ee; thelfirmnessof the mounting of the pistonz cupi when; theyv radial flange of thev latter isclamped' between clampingrings to. secure the cup to the piston. r

.Alnotherfrimportant.v object of the present invention lis zthe f provision of i a pistonz cup which L is substantially' reinforced at the heel thereof whereby tor prevent;I complete or partial blowbacksend; to prev-ern? material draggingY ofV the cylindicallangei: in operation which, if not pre.,- vented. wouldfcause rapid breakdown at the heel @tithe pistonecun.:

Anotherfimportantobjeetf is the provisionfoia piston-cup,havingmeans-'for rei-nfercingfthe sealing flange against. collapsing:A or shirring from the force cil fluidpressure appliedaxially tothe free edge Of-saidflange The forego-ing and other objects andvv advantageswhiohfshouldsbe apparent from title-follow ingvv description are; accomplished.- by thev presi'- vlbody portion 23. body portion., within the present invention, may

ent invention, of which, for illustrative purposes, a preferred embodiment is shown in the accompanying drawings. In these Idrawings:

Figure l is elevational View of a cylinder, partly broken away, to show therein a piston having piston cups according to the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a piston cup according to this invention showing both a radial sectional view of the piston cup and a view of the inner faces of the two flanges thereof.

Referring rst to Fig. l, a piston il suitably secured upon a piston rod l2 is mounted within a cylinder I3 for reciprocation therein in response to pressure which may be introduced alternately into opposite ends of said cylinder `by suitable ports (not shown). The piston rod l2 extends through a gland ld in one end of the cylinder, and the said rod, of course, may be connected to any mechanical structure which is to be actuated. Such a cylinder and piston arrangement is useful, for example, as a part of the reversing apparatus of a steam engine or locomotive, the rod I2 being suitably linked to the reversing gear of the engine or locomotive. In this arrangement the fluid introduced into the cylinder I3 to actuate the piston and thus operate the reversing gear may be either compressed air or steam.

In a piston arrangement of the character disclosed herein in which fluid pressure is applied alternately to opposite sides of the piston to move the latter back and forth, it is ycommon practice to provide two piston cups arranged with their cylindrical flanges extending away from each other, and in the drawing two piston cups i 5, according to the present invention, are shown with an annular distance piece i6 disposed between radial flanges il of the piston cups. These flanges and the distance piece i6 are firmly clamped, within an annular recess i8, between a 4clamping plate i9 and a radial flange 2@ of the `pi-ston by bolts or stu-ds and nuts 2i (only one being shown in the drawing). The bolt or stud extends through registering apertures in the 'clamping plate i9, the radial flanges Il of the two piston cups the distance piece i3, and -the inner end of the bolt or stud is threaded into the radial flange 2e of the piston.

Fig. 2 illustrates the details of an improved piston cup i according to the present invention. `From said figure it may be seen that a piston cup i5 has a body portion 23 consisting of the radial flange il' and, integrally connected to the latter and extending from the outer margin thereof, a cylindrical sealing flange 24, the portion interconnecting these two'ilanges being hereinafter referred to as a heel 25.

The body portion 23 may be of any suitable 'relatively soft and pliant material such as, for

example, cured rubber or synthetic rubber-like material, all being sometimes referred to herein- 'after for convenience merely as rubber. -reinforcing mean-s according to the present invention are employed, there is no need for incorporating any fabric or brous material in the However, if desired, the said have such fabric or brous material therein for 'giving it added body, but such fabric or ilbrous material would not materially prevent distortion and damage to the piston cup as caused by the mentioned cold flow of the radial flange of the cup o-r by the mentioned dragging or shirring of the cylindrical flange. A plurality of holes 26 are provided in the radial flange Il to receive the clamping bolts or studs 2l. It is common practice, also, to bevel the free edge of the cylindrical sealing flange 24 as at 21.

In the form illustrated and described herein, a piston cup according to the present invention includes an annular supporting element 28, which is preferably formed of flat metal which is relatively stiff and somewhat flexible and is L-shaped in cross-section. This supporting element, preferably, is rmly embedded in the inner sides of both ilanges of the piston cup and in the heel 25 thereof. The supporting element 23 thus has a cylindrical ilange 29 preferably embedded in the inner face of the sealing flange 24 of the piston cup but preferably extending not quite to the bevel 2l so that the molded material of the ange 24 preferably extends about the free edge of the flange 29 of the metallic element, as at Sil. The metallic element 28 also has a radial flange 3i which is preferably embedded in the inner face of the radial flange Il' of the piston cup and extends from the inner part of the lheel 25 of said cup inwardly to a point adjacent the bolt holes 26. The metallic element 28 also has a heel 32 which preferably is embedded or bonded in or sets snugly and firmly within the heel 25 of the piston cup. Although such embedding of the heel 32 is desirable it is not essential provided that the engagement of the respective flanges of the element 23 and of the piston cup is sufllciently secure that the element 23, through its engagement with the flanges of the piston cup body 23, may serve to support the heel 25 as well as other parts of the piston cup.

It has been found advantageous to provide a metallic supporting element 28 which is substantially as shown in Fig. 2, comprising a plurality of radially-extending lingers 33 defined or separated by slo-ts 34 which preferably extend through the heel portion 32 and partially into the cylindrical flange 29, so that the fingers 33 may be said to be L-shaped in cross-section. Likewise, it has been found advantageous to provide that the cylindrical flange 29 of the supporting element 28 comprises a series of axiallyextending fingers 35 defined or separated by slots 36. These slots preferably extend from the free edges of the lingers 35 through the heel 32 and partially into the flange 3| so that it may be said that the fingers 35 are L-shaped in crosssection. By providing for the mentioned slots to extend through the heel 32, the fingers are correspondingly elongated and a substantial bendable portion of each finger is provided extending over areas at both sides of said heel; thus instead of the bend being localized, it is distributed over a substantial area, thus minimizing the possibility of breakage at the bend. It will be understood, of course, that the metallic element 28 comprises a series of fingers 33 and 35 extending in the form of a continuous ring about the inner sides of the flanges 24 and l1 of the piston cup and also around the inner side of the heel 25 of said cup. The element 28 may be made economically from strip material, serrated, cut into suitable lengths and the lengths suitably brought together to give said element the form of a ring.

By extending the open slots 34 and 36 through the heel 32 of the supporting element 28, both flanges and the heel portion of the latter may actually be'embedded in the material forming the body portion 23 of the piston cup. By means of said supporting element, the piston cup may be held substantially rigid despite any inherent softness of the material of the body portion 23 of the piston cup or any further softening thereof which might occur in use.

The metal or other material of which the supporting element 28 is formed preferably is stiff enough to overcome any tendency toward harmful repetitions deformation of the piston cup at the heel 25 resulting from the mentioned dragging effect as the piston moves back and forth in the cylinder. Inasmuch as the supporting element 28, and more particularly the fingers of said element, are securely embedded in the flanges of the piston cup, the latters cylindrical flange 24, instead of dragging, will be positively carried along by the piston through the medium of the supporting element 28. Thus, harmful deformation of the piston cup at the heel 25, is effectively prevented. Also, because of the direct or indirect support given to the heel 25 and the flange 24 of the piston cup by the supporting element 28, any possibility of blow-back or of distortion or shirring of the flange 24 from the force of fluid pressure introduced into the cylinder I3 is prevented. For these reasons a piston cup according to the present invention will retain an adequate sealing effect and, in general, last much longer than piston cups heretofore developed, thereby avoiding frequent replacements and the attendant expenses thereof.

It will be observed that the fingers 33 preferably, but not necessarily, extend almost to the outer portions of the holes 29. Thus, these fingers enter between any clamping rings or the like which may be employed to clamp the piston cup to the piston so that, despite the relative softness of the body portion 23 of the piston cup, any material degree of cold flow of the material of the radial flange Il is prevented, thereby preventing any undesired distortion at the heel 25 and assuring that the effectiveness of the clamping of the piston cup to the piston will not be impaired.

The metal or other material of which the supporting element 28 is formed, preferably is resilient and normally (i. e., when not assembled in a cylinder) of a shape in which the re-entrant angle of the supporting element 28 is somewhat greater than 90; so that the said supporting y,

element, in addition to functioning as a supporting means for preventing harmful distortion and eventual early breakdown of the piston cup, also functions as a finger spring which is effective at substantially all portions of the sealing flange 24 of the piston cup to urge substantially the entire area of the outer face of the latter firmly into sealing engagement with the cylinder wall.

Obviously other variations than those specilically suggested herein could be employed while nevertheless conforming to the inventive concept as set forth in the accompanying claims.

What we claim is:

1. A piston cup comprising a body of relatively soft material and a. supporting element; the 6 and an annular heel portion joining the two said walls, and the said supporting element comprising a circular substantially continuous strip of flat spring metal having a continuous intermediate circumferential bend dening circumferential flanges along opposite marginal portions of the strip and transverse, alternately located serrations in each of said flanges extending from the edge of the flange, inwardly across said flange and bend and substantially into the other flange whereby to provide spaced resilient fingers in each of said flanges of substantially greater length than the width of the flange and of enhanced resiliency over a substantial area at opposite sides of said bend and of decreased localization of bending and breaking tendency at said area; the said supporting element being associated with said body with one of its flanges fixed to one wall of the body and the other of its flanges xed to the other wall of the body.

2. A piston cup comprising a generally cupshaped body of relatively flexible molded material and an annular supporting element of at resilient metal; the said body having a substantially cylindrical sealing wall, an annular mounting wall integral with said Sealing wall and eX- tending substantially radially inwardly therefrom, and an annular heel portion joining the two said walls, and the material of said mounting wall being subject to a tendency to flow radially outwardly in use of the cup and thereby to cause excessive wear of the body at the said heel; and th-e said supporting element comprising a plurality of axially extending spring fingers embedded at their free ends in said sealing wall and coacting therewith to urge said sealing wall radially outwardly, and a continuous circumferential series of radially-inwardly extending fingers having their free ends embedded in the material of the mounting wall portion at a circular line sub-A stantially outwardly of the inner periphery of the said mounting wall, thereby constituting a circular abutment which is substantially uniformly effective at all circumferential points for opposing outward flow of the body material.

3. A piston cup according to claim 2, further characterized in that the radial ngers define intervening slits into which the molded body material extends and engages the side edges of the radial fingers; the said side edges thereby aiding the free ends of the radial fingers in opposing outward flow of the body material.

FRANK W. BLAKE. JOE HASKELL DUNLEVY.

REFERENCES CITED A The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

60 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,769,984 Bockius July 8, 1930 FORETGN PATENTS 5 Number Country Date 427,988 Great Britain May 3, 1935 

